The most prestigious awards for the student-athletes at Moorefield and East Hardy High Schools were carefully selected after much deliberation recognizing the amazing achievements of those individuals providing leadership and utmost character amongst the teams.
The swarm of votes came in as the Yellow Jackets gathered at the Hive giving the Moorefield Senior Female Athlete of the Year award to Lindsey Rinker and the Moorefield Senior Male Athlete of the Year award was presented to Brent Moran.
“I am honored and blessed to receive the athlete of the year award. It is a dream come true and something I’ve been working towards for many years,” Moorefield senior Lindsey Rinker commented.
Rinker was a three-sport athlete competing in volleyball, basketball and softball.
“When I was a freshman, Coach See told me ‘Lindsey, you need to strive to win them all,’ It motivated me to be the best player, teammate, student and person that I could be. I’m sad that my high school athletic career is over, but I had an amazing career at MHS. All of these life skills will help me have a successful future.”
Moran, a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball, shared similar thoughts about what it meant to be given this athlete of the year recognition
“I’m honored to receive this award. I feel that all of my hard work, time, and dedication has payed off. I give all the credit to my teammates and coaches for pushing me to be the best I could possibly be,” Moorefield senior Brent Moran said.
A pride of Cougars filled the Den lifting up junior SierraMarie Miller as the East Hardy Female Athlete of the Year and junior Christian Dove received the East Hardy Male Athlete of the Year award.
Miller was a three-sport athlete competing in volleyball, wrestling and track and field, while Dove played in a trio of sports including football, basketball and baseball.
“I am extremely honored to have received the award of East Hardy’s Female Athlete of the Year. I hope to set a positive example for my younger peers in and outside of sports. I will strive to continue to work hard this following year,” East Hardy junior SierraMarie Miller remarked.
It wasn’t a typical day of presentations as the awards were given outside during the pandemic at separate intervals.
Numerous accolades given to the student-athletes focused not only on the journey of the team, but the value of leadership, character, faith and academic excellence.
Moorefield High School’s highest academic honor for an athlete is the American Legion Scholarship award recognizing the student with the best grade point average and this year it was a dual accomplishment as Isabelle Nesbit and Thomas Williams were both bestowed this accolade with identical grades.
“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Sportsmanship and character stands on display at every game as role models develop the core of teamwork and leadership.
The M.A. Bean Sports Award has been presented to student-athletes at Moorefield High School since its inception in the 1967-68 season with candidates writing essays for former recipients to read and vote upon in addition to each individual having the utmost character, leadership, being active in the community, attending church regularly and maintaining academic excellence.
Thomas Williams was selected as the M.A. Bean Sports Award recipient for the 2019-20 academic year, following in the footsteps of his brother Austin (2014-15) and father Sam (1985-86) in receiving this [private]honor.
“It’s very special to me. My older brother Austin and my father Sam Williams both won this award. It’s an award that I strove my whole academic and athletic career to get my senior year. I’m really proud of not only myself, but of those surrounding me, pushing me to be the best I can be,” Moorefield senior Thomas Williams remarked.
“Giving it my all for my school and my community is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
Thomas Williams competed in golf, football, basketball and baseball during his career.
East Hardy High School has a similar prestigious award named the Ralph J. Bean award which is based on criteria such as character, leadership, sportsmanship and respect with all head coaches making the overall vote determining this season for the recipient being senior William Strawderman.
The Jamie Good award was presented to East Hardy senior Madison Strawderman for her demonstration of good character and faith-based values which was paramount in the life of the award’s namesake.
“Jamie is remembered for being a dependable, respectful, loyal and responsible individual with a heart of gold. It was an honor to receive the Jamie Good Award knowing that our coaching staff at East Hardy High School saw the same qualities in me. Especially since Jamie held such a special place in my family’s heart,” East Hardy senior Madison Strawderman noted.
East Hardy senior Aaron Fishel received the Pete Vance award which is given to the student-athlete with the most dedication, readiness to compete and always giving 100 percent effort.
Moorefield Football senior Paxton Coby was presented the Donnie Schell award recognized for having played with the most determination, motivation and heart. Coby was a member of the track and field team.
The inaugural Moorefield High School Athletic Director’s award recipient was given to senior Madison McGregor by former athletic director Dennis Hill, who will sponsor the award for years to come.
McGregor competed in volleyball, basketball and softball during her career.
“It’s more than special, it’s really an honor. It means so much to me that he thought that I was so deserving of this award, especially for it to be the very first time it has ever been given out. It is so special. I come from a very big sports family, so it means a lot that I am part of a large athletic family here at Moorefield High School. That’s something that will stick with me for a very long time. I say this about every sport I play, we are a family and I really miss that. I love my teammates and coaches,” Moorefield senior Madison McGregor commented.
Some of the criteria for this new award is for the student-athlete to be a three-sport athlete maintaining a minimum of a 3.0 GPA, had not received any other major award, an ultimate team player in a supportive role who does everything to better the team without the spotlight, displaying great sportsmanship and character throughout the year.
“It is kind of a work in progress. The Athletic Director’s award is something I have been thinking about for the last couple of years. At our athletic awards ceremony as I get ready to list off the letter winners for 9-12, I noticed how many of them are three-sport or two-sport athletes. In smaller schools, it is critical to get people to play multiple sports. That award could have been flipped today with Thomas, because had Madison won the M.A. Bean award she wouldn’t have been eligible to win the Athletic Director’s award. If you win another award, you aren’t going to win that one,” Moorefield Athletic Director Dennis Hill stated.
“You have to have at least a 3.0 GPA and not everything is set in stone yet. I want people to understand academics and athletics are going together. I would like to see someone win who does great behind the scenes on a team, not saying they didn’t make all-conference. If you have somebody who everybody recognizes as the main person, then there is somebody behind that person who might not be as good as that person, but makes great contributions. They are behind the scenes doing the right things. Madison has tremendous character, she is one of the five names I submitted for the M.A. Bean award. I thought it was tough and it would be hard for the committee to vote. The coaches nominate the players and I select five to pass along to the committee. There are a lot of things done by these athletes in the community or even going on missions trips. If they didn’t win the M.A. Bean, but came close as a qualifier in putting things in their favor. Madison is a well-rounded kid. She was one of the nominees for M.A. Bean. She was the behind the scenes player, not the person people are looking for to be the star person on the team. She had a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and active in the community, she made people around her better. Thomas was in the conversation, because he is a three-sport athlete, a good student and also does a lot in the community. I asked Thomas if he was the only one coming up from his family. I joked with him that his family has so many of those awards, that they could do a better job presenting it. That made it extra special for him. This award carries tradition and quality of character.”
Moorefield and East Hardy had tremendous student-athletes competing with sportsmanship and teamwork to create positive outcomes who were deserving of the accolades bestowed upon them.[/private]
